2018: The Golden Globes’ Year of (Literal) Fashion Statements

The hottest accessories on Sunday’s red carpet? Words.

Black clothing—particularly when that clothing is the high-end stuff of red-carpet couture—has a way of refining things, of clarifying things, of cutting to the chase: Stripped of bright color and its pretty distractions, the focus can become the details that allow fashion to double as art. The perfect tailoring. The artful seaming. The layering and beading and draping. The testing of craft—and of true skill and talent and artistry—that tends to come with constraint.

Black was the color of the evening on the red carpet of the 2018 Golden Globes: In sartorial solidarity with the Time’s Up movement—which aims to fight sexual harassment in Hollywood and beyond—celebrities rejected the fuschias and jades and bronzes that have made past ceremonies such beautiful spectacles and, instead, almost uniformly wore black. This was meant to inspire deeper conversation: about #TimesUp, about #MeToo, about Hollywood, about justice.

It succeeded, to the extent any such shift could have been expected to: The celebrities’ outfits, which normally speak subtly—about their wearers, about their designers, about the culture of a moment—spoke, this time around, stridently. They forced conversations on the red carpet about fairness, about structural change: not “Who are you wearing?” but “Why are you wearing it?” And, so, there was a paradox at play on the red carpet on Sunday evening: The clothes in one way mattered more than ever. And the clothes, in another, mattered not at all. While the dresses and jumpsuits donned by invited celebrities were accessorized, often, with striking accessories and glittering jewels—a black dress can, on top of everything else, serve as a canvas for other forms of wearable art—the accessories most in demand were words.

Here, because of that—via the verbal outfits unveiled on the red carpet of the Beverly Hilton, and on the Globes stage, and on social media, from celebrities and activists and participants around the world—are some of the most striking looks from the Golden Globes of 2018.

Oprah Winfrey
What she wore: “I want all the girls watching here and now to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say, ‘me too’ again.”

Ava DuVernay
What she wore: “I am wearing black today because balance and inclusion and diversity is not some kind of allowance to be made to accommodate people. No, sir. It is a correction of an error. It is a righting of a wrong. And it is going to be done. Now.”

Tarana Burke
What she wore: “This is something I started out of necessity and something that I thought my community needed and it’s grown over the years, but I never could’ve envisioned it growing like this. But this moment is so powerful because we’re seeing … collaboration between these two worlds that people don’t usually put together and would most likely have us pitted against each other.”

Michelle Williams
What she wore: “The most exciting thing is, I thought that I would have to raise my daughter to learn how to protect herself in a dangerous world. And I think because of the work that Tarana has done, and the work that I’m learning how to do, we actually have the opportunity to hand our children a different world.”

Gabrielle Union
What she wore: “This year marked the 25th anniversary of my rape. #MeToo I know I am not alone. Together we can eradicate sexual violence, harassment, and abuse. Together we can have true equality. Together we can dismantle white supremacy and racism. Together we can center the voices of the most marginalized among us. Together we can acknowledge the jig is up and it’s BEEN time for monumental sweeping change.”

Salma Hayek
What she wore: “I was wearing black on Thursday and yes I’m wearing black today —not out of mourning but out of an awakening.”

Ashley Judd
What she wore: “We’ve been fighting for gender justice together a long time, and we are so happy to say #WhyWeWearBlack and #TimesUp.”

Viola Davis
What she wore: “I think it’s a coming out. You know, it’s all of these women just embracing their authentic voices and standing in solidarity with each other. One of the things I want to express to the public: I think people feel like Hollywood could be out of touch at times. But for me, I’m here because I hear the voices of women who said ‘Me too’—which, one of them was me. I hear those people who are nameless, faceless, every day who don’t have a platform to talk about their sexual assault and rape, and I hear those voices. It’s like someone says, ‘There’s no prerequisites to worthiness.’ You’re born worthy, and I think that’s a message a lot of women need hear. The women who are still in silence because of trauma, shame due to assault. They need to understand that it’s not their fault and they’re not dirty. That’s my message tonight.”

Tracee Ellis Ross
What she wore: “Time is up on a lot of things. We all have to stand up together and with arms linked and not ranked. We can put an end to abuse and discrimination that makes the imbalance of power.”

America Ferrera
What she wore: “It’s so incredible to look around and see everyone in solidarity, ready to really address the issues that exist in our industry and across all industries. It’s our job—right now, the time is now—for us to do the work that will make women and all people more safe and more equal in their workplaces and in their lives.”

Kerry Washington
What she wore: “The reason we’re here, the reason we didn’t just stay home, is because we feel we shouldn't have to sit out the night, give up our seats at the table, our voice in this industry because of bad behavior that wasn’t ours. We get to be here to celebrate each other and support each other and stand in joy and solidarity and say we are looking out for anybody who feels marginalized in the workplace, whether you’re a woman or man, because of your sexual orientation, age, race, gender, we’re here to support you … We’re committed to making a change not just in our industry, but every industry.”

Ai-jen Poo
What she wore: “I hope people see the momentum and the energy and the fact that we’re uniting across all industries and all communities standing together saying we all deserve workplaces where we’re safe and our work is valued and we can live and work with dignity. That’s the future, and we have momentum, and we want to say to everyone that they should join us. This is a movement where there’s space for everyone and there’s a role for everyone.”

Meryl Streep
What she wore: “I think people are aware, now, of a power imbalance, and it’s something that leads to abuse. It’s led to abuse in our own industry, and it’s led to abuse across the domestic workers’ field of work. It’s in the military, it’s in Congress, it’s everywhere. And we want to fix that. And we feel sort of emboldened in this particular moment to stand together in a thick black line dividing then from now.”

Laura Dern
What she wore: “May we teach our children that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture’s new North Star.”

Uzo Aduba
What she wore: “Because the numbers don’t lie. Because tomorrow is too far. Because your fight is my fight. Because enough is enough. Because it’s time.”

Constance Wu
What she wore: “I am proud to be part of the Time’s Up movement to end harassment, discrimination, and abuse in the workplace, and I want you to be a part of the movement, too.”

Marai Larasi
What she wore: “There’s something about in women in Hollywood speaking out. There is a wall of silence around violence against women and girls, and every time somebody speaks out, it just creates a bit of a crack in that wall.”

Emma Watson
What she wore: “We’re wearing black because this is a moment in time. It’s not the beginning of a movement or the end of a movement. But it is a moment in time that we stand in solidarity with women across all spheres of life—with women across industries, basically saying time’s up on violence against women.”

Saru Jayaraman
What she wore: “A lot of women say they’ve been sexually harassed but didn’t do anything about it because it was never as bad as when they were young women working in restaurants. I’m excited to stand with Amy Poehler, who worked in the restaurant industry, and excited to stand with women in other sectors. It’s our collective power that will overcome the balance of power.”

Amy Poehler
What she wore: “Symbols are important. Coming together is important, but working to make real change, that’s what makes it real.”

Rosa Clemente
What she wore: “As an organizer, any opportunity I have to bring an issue to the front of people [who] don’t know about it, we embrace that.”

Barbra Streisand
What she wore: “Folks, time’s up! We need more women directors and more women nominated for best director.”

Alyssa Milano
What she wore: “I pray every single day that my daughter does not have to go through the sexual harassment, misconduct, and assault that I’ve gone though in my lifetime. I wear black for Bella.”

Jessica Chastain
What she wore: “I wear black to stand in solidarity with my sisters and to say it’s #TimesUp on this imbalance of power IN ALL INDUSTRIES.”

Denzel Washington
What he wore: “It’s important tonight, but it’s important to follow through. It’s important to see what’s going to happen a year from tonight. So that takes all of our effort and real movement and real change of … laws, but [also] rules of behavior.”

Connie Britton
What she wore: “Poverty is sexist.”

Nicole Kidman
What she wore: “I do believe, and I hope we can, elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them. Let’s keep the conversation alive. Let’s do it.”

Reese Witherspoon
What she wore: “It just became clear that with all of the news that’s been coming out that it couldn’t just be business as normal. We wanted to stand up and do something for all people to say time’s up on discrimination, harassment, and abuse in the workplace.”

Eva Longoria
What she wore: “This isn’t a female issue, it’s a power issue and so [we’re] saying time’s up to ending the abuse of power and recognizing the women that came forward. They kicked that door open for this conversation to happen. Roseanna Arquette, Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek, Olivia Munn, Asia Argento; there’s so many amazing women who’s lives were changed because of this. So we want to make sure that doesn’t happen again, with this movement. Tonight is not a moment, it’s a movement.”

Debra Messing
What she wore: “I am wearing black to thank and honor all of the brave whistleblowers who came forward … Time is up. We want diversity. We want intersectional gender parity, we want equal pay … We want people to start having this conversation that women are just as valuable as men.”

Billie Jean King
What she wore: “We’re in solidarity about standing up for people who’ve been abused and harassed.”

Sarah Jessica Parker
What she wore: “Parity, equality, safe work environments shouldn’t be controversial. So I am delighted, thrilled to be here and talk about this rollout for Time’s Up. It’s an honor and privilege to work amongst women that I’ve admired for so long and never even thought I’d get to meet. And to see them do this sort of work and commit themselves is really quite something. It’s more important to know that it is across industries. It is about women in all industries and men. Equality, parity, safe work environment, really simple, for everybody in the country. It is an exciting and daunting job and we are all dying to dive into the work ahead.”

Shailene Woodley
What she wore: “That’s what the power of sisterhood is. It’s celebrating each other. It’s eradicating judgment and ego and competition … Support is the base of everything.”

Anne Hathaway
What she wore: “Today I wear black to amplify the voices of those who have been silenced. I wear black for all who have gone before, on whose shoulders we have been lifted to this moment. I wear black in hope and rage. I wear black for me, and for you, too.”

Natasha Lyonne
What she wore: “Time for equality! Time for inclusion!”

Kayla Rodriguez
What she wore: “I’m wearing black today for the millions of people that get sexually harassed and assaulted every single day.”

Gina Rodriguez
What she wore: “#TIMESUP on pretending change is not needed. We stand in solidarity because we are grateful to our sisters and brothers, both survivors and allies who have spoken out and forced the convo of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and gender bias into the spotlight.”

Katherine Langford
What she wore: “Tonight, with the Time’s Up movement, it’s a very big gesture, but it is part of a larger thing. You know, what we’re doing is supporting work that has already been done by so many people over such a long period of time. But tonight is special for this Time’s Up movement, which is supporting equality not just for women but also for men and all nonbinary people across every industry.”

Mark Ruffalo
What he wore: “Wearing black today in solidarity with the men and women asking for respect and equality across industry lines. Let’s bring a stop to sexual harassment in the workplace. Join us in wearing black and saying #TimesUp.”

Maria Menounos
What she wore: “#Timesup is about equal rights, it’s about fair pay, a safe harassment-free and bully-free work environment, and it’s about just plain decency. It’s about women not having to suffer at the hands of men (and those complicit women who do their dirty work) who together hold your livelihood, dreams, and careers over your head and make you suffer while propping up and rewarding the men, despite their poor behavior on and off the job. It must all end.”

Justin Hartley
What he wore: “It means a lot to me and I think it means a lot to everyone and I think we all stand in solidarity here and I think we can all agree that time’s up.”

Karlie Kloss
What she wore: “Time’s up on the imbalance of power between women and men in the workforce. Wearing black today to stand in solidarity.”

Natalie Portman
What she wore: “We realize how much louder and stronger our voices can be together.”

Ann Dowd
What she wore: “That the organization is raising funds to support women who don’t have the freedom to speak up, that’s huge. That’s what makes a difference. I think it’s just getting started. I think a huge percentage of men are on board too. Who think enough is enough.”

Danielle Brooks
What she wore: “I stand and I give. You can help too by giving to the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund which helps people who need financial aid in cases of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse.”

Shonda Rhimes
What she wore: “At home with the flu so my black dress stays on the hanger but my #TIMESUP pin will be on my PJs! Wear black at home with all of us.”

Nitya Khanna‏
What she wore: “I wear black in my college room on Sunday in India to support young girls and women who are harassed and abused at places of education. Grateful to be in a world where this has become unacceptable.”

Rosario Dawson
What she wore: “We wear black to symbolize solidarity. That the death knell has struck on abuse of power and that it’s time to celebrate each other. Not just the nominees on our film and television screens, but our storytellers who have bravely come forward and courageously shared their personal stories, which have liberated so many of us.”

Brie Larson
What she wore: “Together we can end harassment, discrimination, and abuse from the power imbalances we all face in the workplace.”

Alison Brie
What she wore: “I am wearing black to stand in solidarity with all of the women who have come out about being sexually harassed and abused. I’m so in awe of the bravery it took for the first few to come forward. They are heroes.”

William H. Macy
What he wore: “A lot of people are fired up that needed to get fired up. I have two daughters, 15 and 17, and they’re fired up in way I haven’t seen since the ’60s. I think it’s changed their lives.”

Amber Tamblyn
What she wore: “Tonight is not a mourning. Tonight is an awakening."